Watch: With No Public In Stands, Lockie Ferguson Searches For Ball After Aaron Finch's Six

The New Zealand players had to work harder than usual on Friday during the first ODI against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The Australian players will also have to do the same when they defend their total. The reason that the players are needed to work harder than the usual days is because of the absence of fans in the stadium.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Cricket Australia has barred the public to attend the three-match ODI series. And the decision not only took some shine off the game but also saw the players doing some unusual work. Such an incident took place in the 19th over of Australia’s innings when Aaron Finch smashed a six off Ish Sodhi.

And with no public in the stands, New Zealand star Lockie Ferguson had to cross the boundary and enter the stands in order to search the ball. He took a few seconds to find the ball before throwing it into the field. Cricket Australia later posted a clip of the incident on their official Twitter handle.

Good arm, Lockie! #AUSvNZ pic.twitter.com/xY7QtF5UGf

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) March 13, 2020

Later in the same over, Australia opener David Warner forgot to celebrate his century as there were no fans to applaud his effort. But his teammates soon started clapping from the dressing room and David Warner realised the reason behind it quickly.

Australia, meanwhile, scored 258 for 7 in their allotted 50 overs. David Warner and Aaron Finch gave Australia a solid start as both of them scored fifties and shared a century-plus stand. The two added 124 runs for the first wicket before New Zealand staged a brilliant fightback. Marnus Labuschagne scored a fighting fifty towards the end to power Australia to a decent total.

Australia are on a five-match losing streak in ODIs and will be desperate to get back to winning ways. New Zealand, on the other hand, recently whitewashed India in a three-match ODI series before arriving in Australia.

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